The Favorites: A Novel(48)
All those years of training, and I almost threw it away chasing Heath up a hill like we were still a couple of half-feral children.
It was my year. My Olympic season. No one was going to ruin it for me.
Not even Heath Rocha.
Kirk Lockwood: Everyone expected Torino to be a rematch between the Americans and the Russians—the one they’d all been waiting for since Sheila and I battled it out with the original Volkova and Zolotov back in Calgary.
During their medal ceremony at the 1988 Winter Olympics, Sheila Lin and Kirk Lockwood smile on top of the podium, while Veronika Volkova and Mikhail Zolotov glower from the step below.
Kirk Lockwood: But as any skating fan knows, it doesn’t always go the way you expect.
In a news clip from Russian state television, an anchorman delivers a breaking report, with English translation dubbed over his voice.
“Nikita Zolotov, son of decorated Olympic ice dancer Mikhail Zolotov, officially announced his retirement from the sport today. The younger Zolotov has been struggling with injury since the World Championships earlier this year in Moscow, where he and his partner, Yelena Volkova, suffered a shocking defeat to Americans Katarina Shaw and Garrett Lin.
“Volkova and Zolotov were widely expected to triumph at the ice dance competition during the twentieth Winter Olympiad in Torino, Italy, but now Volkova has been left without a partner only a few months before the Games.”
Veronika Volkova: Yelena was heartbroken.
Ellis Dean: Yelena was probably relieved. I mean, I don’t know her, but I always thought she seemed scared of Nikita. And of her aunt.
Veronika Volkova: She was still young. That is what I told her. She would go to the Olympics in four years’ time, with a new partner. A better partner. Another four years, and I was certain that no one would even recall who Katarina Shaw was.
Kirk Lockwood: With Volkova and Zolotov out of the picture, Shaw and Lin were the indisputable ones to beat. Coming off a world title, teams typically get a big confidence boost. They carry themselves differently. They skate like champions.
Katarina Shaw and Garrett Lin perform their 2005–2006 season free dance, to the music of British R&B singer Sade. Katarina’s costume is pure white, with a gauzy skirt and crystal-encrusted bodice. Garrett wears all black, with the same crystals decorating his shoulders.
Kirk Lockwood: We all expected Kat and Garrett to sail to the top of every podium that season, then collect gold in Torino as their victory lap. But like I said, figure skating is full of surprises. And the surprise that year was Lin and Rocha.
At their first-ever competition together, the 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy, Bella and Heath skate to selections from the soundtrack of the 1998 film Great Expectations. Bella wears a green dress with a flowing skirt. Heath’s costume is an exquisitely tailored satin tuxedo.
From the commentary booth, Kirk Lockwood remarks, “Seems like these two have been together a lot longer than a few months, doesn’t it? The way they’re skating, the gold medal is theirs.”
Garrett Lin: Kat and I didn’t do any of the early season events, and we were assigned to different Grand Prix events than Bella and Heath. So we wouldn’t compete against them directly until the Grand Prix Final in December, if we both qualified.
Ellis Dean: It was almost like Sheila planned it that way—keeping them apart to build up anticipation for the big showdown.
Garrett Lin: I was relieved—not so much for me, but for Kat. I knew she was having a tough time, especially with our free dance. But we still won both of our Grand Prixs.
Katarina and Garrett wave from the top step of the podium at Skate America in Atlantic City, then the Trophée ?ric Bompard in Paris.
Kirk Lockwood: Even with as well as they were doing, it was a shock when Lin and Rocha took the silver at Skate Canada—only their second competition together, and their first with stiff international competition. Then they took gold in Japan.
Bella Lin and Heath Rocha keep a close watch on the scoreboard at the NHK Trophy in Osaka. When their winning marks appear, they smile and embrace.
“There you have it, folks,” Kirk announces. “Lin and Rocha are going to the Grand Prix Final.”
Garrett Lin: We knew Bella and Heath would give us a fight.
Kirk Lockwood: I thought it might be close. But everyone expected Kat and Garrett to win. They were more experienced. They were the reigning world champions.
At the 2005 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, Katarina and Garrett sit in the kiss and cry with Sheila, awaiting their free dance scores. In the lead after the original dance, they were the last team to skate. The numbers appear, and Katarina’s face falls.
“Incredible!” comes Kirk’s voice over the commentary track. “In their first season together, Isabella Lin and Heath Rocha take Grand Prix gold!”
Cut to Bella and Heath backstage, celebrating their win. Bella kisses Heath on the cheek, leaving a smear of pink lipstick. Then back to Katarina and Garrett. Katarina’s face has twisted into a furious scowl. Garrett squeezes her knee and smiles, seeming to remind her to be a gracious loser, but it’s too late: her reaction has been broadcast for the whole world to see.
Ellis Dean: Listen, if you’d just had your ass kicked by your ex-boyfriend and your ex-bestie, you’d be pretty upset too.
Katarina and Garrett leave the kiss and cry. Her expression is more neutral now, but she sweeps past the outstretched media microphones without speaking to anyone.